Rsync Between two FreeNAS over WAN

[paulvella]

Hi,

I am new to FreeNAS but have been fiddling around with it for the last 2 weeks. I am trying to configure a FreeNAS to FreeNAS sync by using Rsync but over a WAN connection. I wish to have a remote backup at home in case if something happens at my office.

I have set up the primary FreeNAS at my office and the other at my home. I have setup Volumes and CIFS on the office side and I have successfully put files and folders on it. I then switched on the Rsync service and added an Rsync module. Took note of the rsync module name and gave it the path. I setup a static IP on this machine and port forwarded port 873 to it.

At the home side I have setup volumes cifs and switched on rsync service and added a new rsync task. I gave the task the path where to store the data, office dns hostname (no-ip) as remote host, written the correct remote module name, direction pull as I need to pull data from the office, gave it a frequency of 15 minutes and ticked the delete option.

But still cannot get a result. Am I doing something wrong? need your help.

Thanks
Paul

 

[ternarybit]

• Consider that pure rsync is not encrypted and therefore anything sent over the link is clear to any eavesdropper. This is not a problem for public data (like website mirrors) but it poses a threat to personal data. Rsync over SSH or ZFS replication are two ways to achieve privacy.
• From the way you describe things, it sounds like you're not getting any kind of error or response from FreeNAS. Assuming your'e OK with using pure rsync, I suggest manually running a sync task from the shell. The shell will probably give you an error that will be helpful in troubleshooting. Try rsync'ing locally before traversing the WAN.
• In addition to rsync over SSH, ZFS in FreeNAS does offer encrypted replication, which is probably the "intended" FreeNAS method for doing what you want. There is a document for setting up secure replication between two FreeNAS boxes, and it doesn't seem too painful to set up.

http://doc.freenas.org/index.php/Replication_Tasks

 

[jgreco]

There's an obsession with "WAN" connections in some circles, but a WAN connection is basically just another IP connection. Might be faster or slower than your Ethernet and is probably a different technology than Ethernet too, but basically it just moves packets - just like your local Ethernet switch. However, since a WAN connection is often tied to a craptacular NAT gateway (inappropriately referred to as a "router" by many people), and the NAT gateway might need port forwarding or other configuration, that NAT device is usually the sticking point.

So, make your life easier. Pick up your home FreeNAS and take it to the office. Put it right next to the office one and get rsync to work that way first. That way you can see how it is all supposed to be configured, and any FreeNAS-specific questions, we can help you with. Then take it home and make it work through any additional network complications.

 

[paulvella]

There's an obsession with "WAN" connections in some circles, but a WAN connection is basically just another IP connection. Might be faster or slower than your Ethernet and is probably a different technology than Ethernet too, but basically it just moves packets - just like your local Ethernet switch. However, since a WAN connection is often tied to a craptacular NAT gateway (inappropriately referred to as a "router" by many people), and the NAT gateway might need port forwarding or other configuration, that NAT device is usually the sticking point.

So, make your life easier. Pick up your home FreeNAS and take it to the office. Put it right next to the office one and get rsync to work that way first. That way you can see how it is all supposed to be configured, and any FreeNAS-specific questions, we can help you with. Then take it home and make it work through any additional network complications.

I have already done that and the system worked instantly.

 

[jgreco]

Then you need to ascertain why you are unable to connect. I don't recall if FreeNAS is trying to do the rsync-over-ssh thing or something else, but you'll want to duplicate whatever it is trying to do - telnet from the FreeNAS CLI is *extremely* helpful - and see which thing is not letting the connection happen.